Reproduction machines such as copiers and printers have become more complex and versatile with respect to the jobs they perform. The user interface between the machine and the operator or user, which in essence permits the dialogue between the operator and the machine, must necessarily be expanded if full and efficient utilization of the machine is to be realized. A suitable interface must not only provide the controls, displays, and messages necessary to activate, program, monitor, and maintain the machine, but must be able to accurately and efficiently program machine instructions for a complex reproduction run. Such reproduction runs generally include a set of documents with most of the documents requiring common features. However, often several documents of the set require special features or exceptions to the common features of most of the documents of the set. This requires operator attention and selection to program the exceptions for each such document requiring an exception.
Exception page programming is a process for expressing and recording the instructions for deviating from the baseline or common job programming for the print job. Typically, exception page programming is accomplished by a user reviewing the job pages and indicating the exception programming for specified pages. This process is labor intensive and prone to error because there is difficulty in unambiguously specifying the pages when page numbers shift as a result of insert sheets, chapter starts or simplex/duplex changes.
One prior art approach that offers a primitive implementation of automated exception page programming for host based composition systems involves the use of each section of a document as a separate PDF file with recognizable file name suffixes for inserts. These files are concatenated under control of a script that performs special actions when a file with an “insert” file name suffix is encountered. This approach results in the coupling of the document creation process to the automated exception page programming, which is undesirable because it is not flexible.
A difficulty with such prior art systems is that often the same exceptions apply to several documents. It is then necessary for the operator to painstakingly select the exceptions (i.e., there may be several such as chapter start, special paper or insert, copy quality or image shift) for each document, repeating the same exceptions until the process has been completed for each document. Each time the operator is called upon to make a selection, the possibility of an error in the selection process is increased. Errors in selection can result not only in an inaccurate work product which will need to be at least partially redone, but also can result in conflicting exceptions or requirements which may render the job impossible to initiate. The selections must then be reviewed and rechecked to uncover the source of conflict. This can be a very time consuming and inefficient process.
Based on the foregoing it is believed that a need exists for an improved system and method for automatically generating page exception programming based on user defined rules utilizing metadata.